I used a piece of haybale twine to measure JT today, and then brought it home to measure with a yardstick. It's 68" long, so 68 divided by 2 is 34, and 34-3 is 31. I'm not sure if I should get a 30" cinch or a 32" cinch. I'm leaning toward 32" inch because that would give him room to add a little more weight, or for wintertime when he's got the fuzzies.

Skyseternalangel

07-14-2012 11:52 PM

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Umm.. I have no idea but that's a useful site for general measurements.

I am wondering the same thing. Sky wears a 26" Dressage girth.. but 30" (which is the size of the one he was borrowing) cinch is WAY too short on him (if you've seen the fancy pictures where he's wearing one lol..)

Is there a way you can take the cinch back if it doesn't fit?

smrobs

07-15-2012 12:31 AM

There is another way to measure for a cinch too. You sit your saddle on your horse, run a string through the rigging on each side and under their belly where your cinch would go. Pull it snug and mark it at the D-rings on both sides. Measure the string and then subtract 16 inches (round off to the nearest increment of 2 inches; 26, 28, 30, etc).

Whether I would want to round up or round down would greatly depend on what type of cinch I was getting.

If I was getting a string girth; alpaca, mohair, even rayon, I would want to round down to the closest smaller size because those cinches will stretch a bit.

If I were buying a fleece on nylon backing, a neoprene, or a leather, I would want to round up to the closest larger size to give a bit of extra room if they put on some weight.

RebeccaMI

07-15-2012 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smrobs
(Post 1598188)

There is another way to measure for a cinch too. You sit your saddle on your horse, run a string through the rigging on each side and under their belly where your cinch would go. Pull it snug and mark it at the D-rings on both sides. Measure the string and then subtract 16 inches (round off to the nearest increment of 2 inches; 26, 28, 30, etc).

Whether I would want to round up or round down would greatly depend on what type of cinch I was getting.

If I were buying a fleece on nylon backing, a neoprene, or a leather, I would want to round up to the closest larger size to give a bit of extra room if they put on some weight.

I got a 34" and tried it out but it's too long. Thankfully I wrapped plastic around it when I tried it, so I can return it.

smrobs

07-15-2012 12:44 AM

For what it's worth, IME the majority of standard sized stock horses will range from a 28" to a 32". Whenever I buy one, though, I usually go for the 28 because I buy mohair...it usually ends up being 30 after a few rides anyway.

RebeccaMI

07-15-2012 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyseternalangel
(Post 1598137)

Is there a way you can take the cinch back if it doesn't fit?

Sort of. The 34" I have now is from horse.com. I tried it out once with plastic wrapped all around it to keep it nice in case I need to return it. I have two other things I want/need from horse.com anyway, and they are doing free shipping this weekend, so I was going to order another cinch and then send back the 34" one.

The nearest tack shop that I know for a fact carries them is 45 minutes away, so even if I do have to do exchanges/returns through the mail, that method is actually more convenient for me at this point.

For what it's worth, IME the majority of standard sized stock horses will range from a 28" to a 32". Whenever I buy one, though, I usually go for the 28 because I buy mohair...it usually ends up being 30 after a few rides anyway.

I have an Appendix QH who tends very much to his TB half. He's a slim guy. Maybe I should go with the 30?

If I have time tomorrow, I'll try to go to the barn and try that measuring method with the saddle and the string. (Why did I say I would go to this bridal shower that's 90 minutes away??)

smrobs

07-15-2012 12:55 AM

:D

I'm a bit iffy on TB type horses. The one that we used to have and I rode was a thicker bodied guy, but he had a relatively small girth area for his size. I used a 28 on him but probably could have gone with a 26.

But on the other hand, I rode a customer horse not too long ago (an appendix mare, looked very TB) that, at first glance, looked like she would be great in a 28. Yeaaahhh, she ended up needing a 34 :lol:.

Did you cinch up the new girth you tried out relatively tight? Do you remember about how much space was there between the cinch buckles and the rigging on your saddle? Ideally, there should be about 8 inches, though for general riding, 6 is acceptable on each side. If you can remember about how far it was, you can just subtract the difference and voilą, you have your measurement :D.